Man, known for motivational speeches on YouTube, held for burglary in Odisha

Bhubaneswar | A 42-year-old man, who is known for his motivational speeches on YouTube, was arrested for allegedly committing a daytime burglary in the house of a newlywed couple in the Odisha capital on August 14, a police officer said.

Manoj Kumar Singh, a resident of Cuttack in the state, was arrested for theft at the rented house of the complainant Subhashree Nayak, he said.

Nayak alleged that Rs 5 lakh in cash and 300 grams of gold ornaments were stolen when she and her husband were in their places of work, and the house was locked from outside. Subsequently, she reported the matter to Bharatpur police station.

Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said the accused is a habitual daytime burglar who specifically targets locked houses, and in the evening time, he became a motivational speaker.

Manoj has even given motivational speeches on subjects like “how one turns out to be a criminal” and “how to check crimes” on his YouTube channel, the police officer said.

Singh said the accused visited the location carrying an iron rod in a bag on the day of the incident.

Manoj broke open the main door and then the almirah inside, stole cash and ornaments, and left within 10 minutes.

During the investigation, it was found that the accused had mortgaged 82 grams of the stolen gold at a branch in Nayagarh for Rs 4,73,000. Another 100 grams of gold and cash were recovered from his possession, he added.

A two-wheeler and an iron rod used to commit the burglary have been seized from his possession along with gold ornaments of 200 grams and Rs 1 lakh in cash.

The Police Commissioner said that the accused was involved in 10 other cases pending in different police stations in Bhubaneswar and Nayagarh.

The police handed over the recovered gold and cash to the complainant on Thursday.